In Buffalo, Mike Harrington notes Pegula Sports & Entertainment President & CEO Kim Pegula is the "first female president" in the NHL since the '50s and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is "thrilled to have her take a more active role in business with both the league" and the Sabres. Bettman said, "The City of Buffalo is fortunate to have the Pegulas investing so heavily in the city, in the Bills, in the Sabres and all the construction they've done in the city itself." The league has "supreme confidence in the way the Pegulas are operating the Sabres, and Bettman was pleased to learn Kim Pegula was stepping into a bigger role" (BUFFALO NEWS, 5/29).
CROSS-CAPITAL RIVALRY: The WASHINGTON POST's Thomas Boswell writes fans from DC, the area which Orioles Chair & CEO Peter Angelos "once said has 'no real baseball fans,' commandeered Camden Yards on Memorial Day." Nationals fans "clad in red gave a standing ovation" to the team, and supporters at the game were "pro-Nats and uncontested." In a park where the Nationals "have usually been booed and had gone 11-21" before yesterday since they moved to DC in '05, this "marked a shift that will please many Washington baseball fans." Boswell notes there were "probably more 'Harper' jerseys than 'Machado' jerseys" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/29). In Baltimore, Jon Meoli wrote Camden Yards was "built for" days like yesterday, with a comfortable summer day "welcoming an announced Memorial Day crowd of 36,139 to watch a team built to clobber the ball out of it" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 5/28). MASNSPORTS.com's Mark Zuckerman noted a "large portion" of the crowd was "decked out in red and blue" (MASNSPORTS.com, 5/28).
ACES HIGH: In Las Vegas, Alan Snel noted the WNBA Las Vegas Aces on Sunday played their "regular season home-opener in a refurbished Mandalay Bay Events Center" in front of a capacity crowd of 7,662. But Snel noted there were "open seats around the arena," which received an $8-10M overhaul. Both the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun "reported the attendance was 4,467" (LVSPORTSBIZ.com, 5/27). Also in Las Vegas, Sam Gordon noted WNBA President Lisa Borders "highlighted the commitment" from MGM Resorts Int'l, who "bought the team in the fall." Borders "praised the arena and its intimate feel, and seemed genuinely excited for the franchise and its potential" (REVIEWJOURNAL.com, 5/27).
